


Small Crime

by Morethancupcake



Series: Simple and kind [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Angst with a Happy Ending, Clint and Phil are amazing friends, Emotional Infidelity, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, Insecure Bruce, Jealousy, Loss of Trust, M/M, Past Infidelity, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7486062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morethancupcake/pseuds/Morethancupcake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was a kiss, a stupid drink and a kiss. It was nothing more, and now..." Phil hugs him close, and Bruce cries for the first time since that awful night. "I just want my husband back."</p><p>Bruce's mistake doesn't draw blood, it's not a huge crime, but as Phil points it out, it's not the first time Tony has to deal with this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Momentary

**Author's Note:**

> Science Bros Week : Momentary. 
> 
> I highly recommend reading the other parts first to get some things here and there (read : Steve).
> 
> No beta : all mistakes mine. Please remember English is not my fist language before you start to yell at me :)
> 
> If you're afraid of some triggers, you can jump to the note at the bottom. Stay safe.

"Just give him time." Rhodes shrugs and puts he bag he packed for Tony on his shoulder. "You guys obviously need to talk it through, but right now he needs space."

"I understand."

He understands, but it doesn't make it easy. The house feels lonely, and silent without him there. He busies himself with a pile of paper, trying not to ask too much, trying to respect his husband's privacy.

"What you did, man... " Rhodes makes a little face. "YOu have to admit it was pretty stupid."

"I know. Believe me I know."

There's nothing else to say, so he leaves and Bruce is left alone in the house. Their house.

 

He never meant for any of this to happen. 

He never meant to hurt his husband.

 

The house is gloomy without them both here. It reminds him of Tony's operation. Of the recovery, Ton'y heart fragile like glass between them. 

He drives to the hospital and tries to respect his husband's wish. He has lunch alone in his office, and he makes himself scarce, avoids their friends. He isn't the one who needs comfort right now.

 

Phil comes to his office after hours. He looks at his shirt, stained with coffee, at the mess at his desk, and shakes his head.

"Were you planning on sleeping here ?" Bruce can feel the heat on his cheeks. "Don't answer. I've seen this look enough to know what it means." 

He puts a cup of herbal tea in front of him.

"It's late. Is Clint...?"

"Clint and I had a little different about you guys." Phil smiles, almost apologetic. "Apparently your husband has a champion ready to fight for him."

And it makes Bruce smile. it warms his heart to know people are ready to jump and protect Tony, even if it's from him.

"He's right to be pissed at me. It was stupid."

"Was it ?" Phil challenges him, he knows. "Apparently it wasn't just a kiss. There are texts." Bruce keeps his eyes on his desks. "Natasha is a wondeful woman."

"She is." 

"Is that what it is, then ?" Phil looks almost sad, for a second. "Are you ...?"

"It was stupid. I was flattered. And she felt lonely." It feels odd to say it. To explain. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I was just trying to be a good friend."

"By letting her believe you were interested." Phil holds up a hand. "I am not here to judge. As I told Clint, maybe you are in love. it happens. God knows Tony doesn't deserve another husband walking out on him, but your sentiments are valid, too."

"I love him. He's my husband and I love him."

"Yet you cheated on him."

 

Phil takes him to a small vietnamese restaurant, where they inhale bowls of fuming phò.

"I guess..." he starts, and Phil listens. It's good, to put words into this mess. To understand just where he messed up. "It was pretty innocent at first. Natasha is brilliant, and pretty funny. I was flattered, to see such a young and brilliant woman being interested in what I had to say."

"And she's stunning." They both smile.

"Yes. She is. But that's not..." He shakes his head. "Tony is a genius. I know. We know. He'll always be the most brilliant man in the room, no matter who's there. It's... It's something I'm used to."

"It was nice to be the star ?" Phil reaches for is beer. "I know. Believe me I know. And that's probably why Clint got so mad at me. Because he does't know what it feels, to feel like you're living in your other half's shadow sometimes."

"See, that's the catch." Bruce runs a hand through his hair. "Tony never talks about his projects. Never talks about his papers, about how brilliant he is. It's always about me. He consciously puts himself in my shadow."

"And it's not the same, uh ?"

 

They part in the parking lot. Phil going back to an angry husband, Buce to the silence.

"Do you want to keep seeing her ?" 

Bruce wants a cigarette. He never smoked, never understood the appeal, but right now he does. 

"No. The minute Tony read these messages, I knew it was over." Bruce buries his face in his hands. "It was a kiss, a stupid drink and a kiss. It was nothing more, and now..." Phil hugs him close, and Bruce cries for the first time since that awful night. "I just want my husband back."

 

It takes another week for Tony to come back. When Bruce pushes the door, after another dinner with Phil, Tony is there, barefoot in their kitchen. They look at each other in silence for a minute, and Bruce is too scared to breathe, too scared to ruin it all.

"I put your stuff on the couch. Then I realized you would probably take the spare bedroom." Tony puts his hands in his pockets, his shirt's sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Bruce is sure he never was as beautiful as he is right now. 

"I don't mind the couch." He says, slowly getting rid of his coat. "Are you sleeping here tonight ?"

"Where were you ?" Tony looks nothing like his sweet and loving husband. Bruce remembers this look, from a lifetime ago, when Tony was Stark-Rogers, and would hide to lick his wounds alone.

"I was with Phil. We have dinner sometimes."

"And I'm supposed to believe you."

It would be easy to snap. To get mad. But Bruce knows better. He knows the hurt behind the harsh words. He knows Tony needs him right now.

"I hope you will. If you don't, you can call him."

Tony nods a few times, and leaves to the stairs. Bruce doesn't follow.

 

"We should talk." He tries over their usual herbal tea. It's Friday night, and they have nothing planned, usually. The garden is taken care of, the house clean. 

"No, we shouldn't." There's no heat to the answer. Tony doesn't sit at the table, he drinks slowly, facing the window, ready to bolt. Bruce knows it takes a lot out of him to be here, to stay. 

"Tony. Please."

"You remember, after Steve ?" Tony seems lost in his thoughts. "How scared I was to start dating again. How I said it was going to happen again, eventually."

"It's not the same, Tony."

"How so ?"

"I love you."

Tony shakes his head, and leaves the kitchen. Bruce hears the car driving away, and he wants to smash his cup against the wall.

 

In the morning he makes them breakfast and waits. Tony comes home around seven, and Bruce thanks a Lord he stopped believing in for the clean smell of his, clear from alcohol.

"Tell me why." he asks, carefully slicing a piece of waffle. 

"I was stupid. She's young, and I was flattered."

"That's why you fucked her and ruined our marriage ?" Tony glares at him and waits for the fight. 

"I didn't. Sleep with her. I wouldn't do that to you."

"The lies were pretty easy."

"Tony." Bruce wraps his fingers slowly around his husband's. He's relieved when Tony doesn't jerk him off. "I love you. I've been stupid. And I'm sorry."

"So what ?" Tony's voice is shaking, and he lets his fork go to hid his face. "You're sorry, so until next time ? Don't you think I know how it's going to go ? I played this game before, Bruce, and I can't..."

"I am not Steve. I am not him." Bruce gathers him in his arms, and lets his husband cry in the safety of his arms. "I ruined our marriage, but I'm here to save it."

 

Tony sleeps in their bed, alone. 

Bruce sits outside, the door open just so, and he dozes off sitting down, listening to his husband's breath.


	2. Blue

They paint their bedroom blue. 

Bruce actually does it, while Tony moves his books away to the study downstairs.

Things are still a little weird between them, a little forced sometimes. Tony doesn't reach for his hand anymore. So Bruce does. Always.

 

"Clint asks if we wants to go to the beach next weekend." 

Bruce isn't sure just when Clint and Tony got so close. It's interesting, to see the dynamics of their little group change. Phil was always the one taking care of Tony, bullying him into things. It's refreshing.

 

Bruce brought up therapy after another fight. 

"I don't think it's worth it, Bruce." Tony had said tears stubbornly held. "Maybe it's time. Maybe you should chance it with Natasha. Maybe I should stop falling for men who love other people."

"I am not Steve." Bruce had said. It had been a mantra, almost. "I am not in love with her. I just love you."

"And what if it's not enough. What if I just can't forget."

"Maybe we could ask for help ?"

 

Therapy isn't easy, but it isn't bad either. They're both too wise to yell obscenities at each other. Bruce wants to believe they still love each other too much to let things go.

They talk about how he betrayed Tony's trust, and how Tony can't assume Bruce is just another Steve.

 

It's exhausting, but Bruce wouldn't change it for the world. Not when they drive together after, taking new roads and watching the sea. 

 

"I understand, you know." They stop in front on an old ice cream shop, eyeing the line of people getting ready for a treat. "I get how sometimes someone else's attention can make you feel better about yourself."

Bruce never thought about it. It honestly never occured to him.

"It happened to you before ?"

"There's always a young thing willing to make me believe I'm God." Tony smiles at the family laughing when they pass them, carefree and happy. 

"And you never...?" 

"I would never do anything to risk losing you." Tony smiles. "I never believed anyone would be worth another divorce." He shrugs and pushes himself away from the car. "But apparently you did. And it sucks, but it is what it is." His voice is firm hen he adds. "I wonder if they have any cool flavor. Let's find out, shall we ?"

Bruce doesn't trust his voice.

 

"You never dated a man before me, right ?" 

Tony is watching him cook, it almost feels like before. Like a night when he could reach out and hold his husband in his arms. Tony talked to his lawyer, he knows. He talked about divorce and possibilities and it hurts him so much he can't breathe.

"No. I never really dated before, actually."

"I am the first man."

"Yes. You are." 

 

Tony is almost asleep next to him on the couch, when Bruce calls him softly.

"Hmm ?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

 

"I never meant to hurt you." They are standing in the middle of their room, with blue walls and white floor. Bruce reaches for Tony's hand, happy to feel their fingers slot together perfectly. "I need you to know that. It wasn't because she's a woman, or because I had feelings for her. I was feeling good, and I just wanted to keep feeling good. It was a stupid fix, and it never compared to our marriage. Ever."

"Thank you." Carefully, he guides Tony into his arms, feeling him close for the first time in weeks. Tony smells a little new. Mostly he smells like home, and Bruce breathes him in. 

"I never thought it would get this far. I never thought ... I never thought I could lose you. I never want to lose you."

 

"Are you seeing her again ?" Bruce feels small and unsure, getting ready for bed. The new comforter is heavy and soft, the sheets a nice jersey Tony actually prefers to luxurious fabrics. He's so surprised at the question he almost miss Tony's fear, his fidgeting.

"No. Never." 

 

It takes a minute for Tony to reach for his hand. Another one for him to cross the distance and put his head on his husband's shoulder. 

"I like the blue." he says.

"Yeah. I like it too."


	3. Illuminate

"I think I want to go somewhere. With you." Bruce nuzzles at his husband's temple, where the hair is slowly turning grey. Tony hates it, but hates the idea of dying his hair even more. It's soft under his nose, under his lips.

"Hmm ?" Tony is still a little tense, not sprawled around in their bed, but laying on his spot, holding his pillow. 

That's probably the thing Bruce feels really guilty about, how he had robbed Tony of the comfort of their home. 

"I want to go somewhere with you." He tries again. "Somewhere new."

 

Tony doesn't overreact. That's something Bruce notices pretty early. Tony doesn't ask him about his errands, about his meetings, or about his phone. 

He was preparing himself for questions, and fights. Tony smiles and stays silent. 

In the morning, when they part, Bruce kisses his jaw, a safe spot, something he's allowed to. They don't meet for lunch, they don't share their breaks together. Tony vanishes, sometimes to the gym, sometimes to eat with his little patients. 

Bruce misses him, but he can't find in himself to ask, to demand these precious hours back.

 

"He's waiting for the other shoe to drop." Clint is still a little mad at him, he can see it. They used to be pretty close, mostly because Phil and Tony were always together, so Bruce feels the distance, and he mourns it too. "He's waiting for you to mess up, to prove him it's not worth it."

"Clint..." Phil looks vaguely threatening, and Clint rolls his eyes at him. Bruce is too busy trying not to throw up to comment.

"I'm not saying he's right. I'm just saying. That's Tony Stark for you." Clint watches him closely. "He's done it with Steve before. He's expecting you to mess up again, and again."

"I won't. I won't do it again."

"Then you should do something to prove him wrong." Clint turns back to his vegetables with a little frown, and Bruce wants to thank him. He knows he doesn't exactly deserve Clint's help, but still. Phil nudges his foot under the table and winks at him.

 

They're driving from the hospital when Bruce gathers his courage and takes Tony's hand in his, softly, not to scare him, and traces his knuckles slowly.

"We should stop for ice cream." he says. "We should stop for ice cream, and then plan a trip together."

Tony nods, after a small hesitation, and Bruce kisses his knuckles one by one. The skin is dry under his lips, and Tony shivers when he traces it with the tip of his tongue.

 

Bruce kisses his cheek when they're cooking together. Tony is listening to a podcast, something about clean eating and exercise, and Bruce steals a kiss. It's pretty innocent, Tony is just so handsome Bruce feels like he has to.

"What ?" Tony blushes. An honest blush Bruce knows runs all the way to his chest.

"I love you. That's all." He pops a piece of mozzarella in his mouth and smiles.

 

Tony doesn't reach for his hand. Tony doesn't hold his face to kiss him during the day. They don't make love in their new bedroom.

Bruce puts on the radio, and when he just can't help himself, he offers his hand, and they dance slowly, the only light coming from Tony's favorites candles.

"It reminds me of our honeymoon." He says.

"We didn't get a real honeymoon, Doctor Banner."

"We did." Bruce lets his voice go deep, and his lips graze the edge of Tony's ear. "We went to the cottage, and everything smelled like your candles. We danced to a playlist on your phone, and I made love to you."

"You did." Tony's voice is heavy, and Bruce guides his head to rest on his shoulder. "You did."

"I love you so much more than I did the day I married you, Tony Stark."

 

Tony doesn't answer. Bruce holds him like glass, and they dance.

 

They're both working on the garden when Bruce notices Tony's shirt. It's a white linen, it looks soft and comfortable, and Bruce recognizes it suddenly, he remembers years ago, Steve shopping for them both, for holidays in the sun, in Mexico probably. 

Tony catches his eyes and makes a face, a little ashamed.

"Not really my style, uh ?"

"No. No." Bruce wipes the dirt on his cut-off jeans. "It's different, that's all."

"I always wanted to be the kind of man who could garden in a white linen shirt. I don't know, maybe I saw Jarvis when I was a kid ?" He keeps moving the soil around their hydrangeas. "It was nice of Steve, to buy it for me. I would've never. It's a nice memory."

"It is." 

After a handful of minute, enough not to make it too obvious, Bruce excuses himself and goes back inside.

 

Bruce ends up in the gym, boxing for the first time in years. Phil doesn't ask, and he is glad because he's not sure he could properly explain. Phil doesn't ask, and they sparr for a while, until the exhaustion makes him want to sit on the floor and cry.

"It could've been me." 

Phil hands him a bottle of water, and Bruce takes it without really seeing. "I could've been Steve. I could've lost everything."

"But you're not." Phil smiles at him, a loopsided smile only he can manage. "You're here and you're fighting."

 

Bruce stops on his way home to buy a huge basket of peach roses. He watches Tony work, for a long minute before calling him for dinner. Tony senses something is wrong, something is off, and instead of asking he makes himself small, eats in silence and excuses himself to his office.

He finds the roses when he finally enters their room, and Bruce is too scared to touch when Tony kisses him, shy and unsure before shutting down the light.

 

Bruce holds him close, tracing his cheekbones, his jaw. Tony avoids his eyes to bury his face in his neck, and Bruce holds him close.

"You never told me." He whispers. "Where should we go."

Tony's breath is slow against his skin. Bruce dreams about lanterns and fireworks, about the light reflecting in Tony's eyes, and the sun on their skin.

He dreams of holidays.


	4. Arrival

Steve calls on a Sunday. 

Bruce sees his name on Tony's phone, he sees the guarded look on his husband's face.

Tony excuses himself and goes to his office, and Bruce tries not to feel jealous.

 

He knows it's stupid. He takes care of the dishes, and starts on a few things he wanted to bake. He knows it's completely illogical, and a tad hypocritical. But this is an old battle, and there's nothing he can do to stop the uneasy feeling, the worry.

 

So Tony goes for a run, and Bruce worries.

 

They start to spend more time together. Bruce smiles a little more, he allows himself to feel happy, relieved. When he drives, he cups the back of Tony's head and he feels like he can finally breathe, like the world won't shatter at the expanse of his chest.

They share lunch in Tony's office, and he tries not to be sad at Pepper's cold stare.

He orders them lebanese, Tony's favorite, and instead of working during Tony's nap, he just runs his fingers through his hair, eyes closed.

 

"Steve wanted to know if I was okay." They know each other well. Bruce knows Tony picked the time on purpose. He keeps himself busy cleaning their bathroom, and waits. "Funny how suddenly he cares."

"What did you tell him ?"

"I told him I didn't need him to check on me." Tony is changing their sheets, rolling the dirty ones at his feet. "But you know how stubborn he can be. Not an answer he was going to accept." A small huff. "He can be so agravating sometimes. Telling me how much he still loves me and cares."

That hurts. So much Bruce has to actually sit.

"So what did you tell him ?" he parrots.

"That we were fine. That it wasn't a soul mate kind of thing."

"It wasn't." It takes a lot from him, to stand up and go to the bathroom door. Tony is waiting, watching him expectantly. Bruce isn't sure what Tony wants to know, what he wants him to say. 

"He told me he had known for a while." Bruce sees it. The hurt. The betrayal. "Natasha had told him, when you two had started..."

"I'm so sorry." 

Tony nods a few times, and takes the sheets in his arms. There's a hundred of reasons for him not to leave the room. Bruce has them all on the tip of his tongue. He wants to apologize again, to erase the hurt, and his mistakes.

"What did you tell her ?" It's so unexpected He blinks a few times. "When you broke it off, what did you tell her ?"

"I told her I'm in love with you." He swallows, his throat too dry. He is on moving sands, he knows it. "I told her I was sorry, and it could never happen again."

"What." It's not exactly a question, and Bruce takes a step, and another. He gently pries the sheets away and guides Tony to sit on their bed, holding his hands between his. "What could never happen again ?"

It's like free falling. It's terrifying. They already talked about this during their therapy sessions. Tony knows the basics, he wasn't actually ready to hear more. 

"I don't want to lie to you, ever again. I don't want to see anyone else. I don't want to hurt you."

 

The house is clean and smelling like rosemary when Tony stops him, with just a brush of his fingers.

 

"I think I want to go. For a while." It feels like the floor is shifting under his feet, and it must show, because Tony steadies him. "I need to be alone. For a little while."

"Are you going back to James' ?" He wants to beg, to bargain. They were doing okay, they weren't perfect, but they were trying, and Tony leaving, it's...

"No. No, I just need to breathe." He smiles, and Bruce sees it, how broken he is, still. "Can you wait for a while ? Until I figure this out ?"

 

It hurts to say yes. It hurts to see Tony pack, and to see him leave. The house suddenly feels too big and too scary, and he curls up on the couch, with Tony's pillow in his arms.

 

Tony calls him from the airport, during the night. In the morning, after a cup of coffee, he finds the courage to listen.

"It's not me breaking up with you." He can hear people around, announces about gates and flights. "I know what you must be thinking, and it's not. That. I won't try to hurt you back, I won't try to hook up with a stranger so we're even. It's not... it's not what this is about. I just..." A sigh. "I feel like I have all these voices in my head, yours, and Clint's, Rhodey's, even Steve's now, I don't know what I feel anymore. I need to be alone, somewhere and feel." There's a pause. "It's not going to be pretty, I'm still fucking... I..." Bruce closes his eyes. "I just need a little time, Big Guy. Just give me time, okay ?"

 

He listens to it a few times, just to be sure, just to anchor himself. 

Time, he can do.

 

It's probably the worst he felt in a very long time. He isn't mad at Tony for leaving, no, but he's suddenly left ith his own thoughts, his guilt and disgust at himself. He has time to think, and it's not something he really wants to dwell on. 

 

If he's honest with himself, all he can feel is sadness, and exhaustion. He think about Tony, alone on a beach, and it hits him again, how beautiful and amazing his husband is, and how lucky he is to be able to call him his, still. 

He tries not to think about other people, Tony promised after all, but it's still there, in a corner of his mind. He can almost justify it, and it makes him sick. Tony right now is hurt, and not sure of Bruce's devotion, while Bruce had been nothing but happy, knowing he was loved and cherished. 

It could happen, the logical part of his brain provides. It could happen, a stranger discovering Tony's skin, the way his breath catches when he's touched right so, his taste. 

It leaves something like ashes in his mouth.

 

It's been almost two weeks when Tony calls him. 

 

"I miss you." Bruce can't fight the longing, he can't fight it anymore. "I miss you, and I want you to come home."

"You didn't replace me, then ?" The tone is light, but they know better. 

"I just want you here. Please come home." He's begging, he knows, and he doesn't care.

"Meet me at the airport ?"

 

The airport is full of families, kids. Groups with posters and happy smiles. Everything around here seems too bright, and too loud, and Bruce feels out of place, wrong. Scared.

He drinks bad coffee and forgets to eat. He eyes the clock, and sees kisses, tears, laughs. 

He waits.

 

Tony smiles when he finally spots him at the arrivals gates. He is tanned, and a little thinner maybe. He looks a little tired, not fully awake, and when Bruce takes him in his arms, he smells like plane, and strangers, not right.

"I missed you, Doctor Banner." Bruce only nods, too exhausted by the wait to say anything. "Should we go home ?"

**Author's Note:**

> \-- If you're here for a little explanation : Bruce flirt with Natasha and they kiss. Some will say he's a monster, others will say it's not THAT bad. We all have strong opinions about it, let's stay cordial. If it's too much for you to stomach, please avoid this story. Take care of yourself first.
> 
> If you read it and liked it : please leave kudos or comments ? I love hearing from you guys.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr if you want to chat :
> 
> http://iwanttopizzamanyou.tumblr.com/post/147401118684/small-crime  
> http://iwanttopizzamanyou.tumblr.com/post/147454663344/small-crime-2  
> http://iwanttopizzamanyou.tumblr.com/post/147498241139/small-crime-3  
> http://iwanttopizzamanyou.tumblr.com/post/147607664759/small-crime-4
> 
> I might sound like a nagging mom but please remember to drink water and stretch, your body will thank you.  
> Have a snack too while you're at it, and think about a nap.


End file.
